fear itself
by xogutterflower
Summary: A wise man once said, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself." This is so very true, but fear manifests itself in five different forms: chase, darkness, isolation, containment, and the unknown. Watch as fear rips apart individuals – literally.


_Ello, loves. I have a bunch of free time and I wanted to get into this fandom again,. and finally start using the whole site, y'know? Thought it'd be cool if some of the less popular genres got a little more famous, y'know? Not too many people write horror anymore, so let's revive it!_

 _Fright Fest Entry no. 1_

 _Hunted_

Kuki closed the shades of her apartment building with a content smile, dusk was falling. She could see the clouds starting to change from marshmallow white to murky blue, gaining a silver lining. The sun sat low on the hosizon, with the intent of setting for the night, not to be seen again for hours. The birds stopped chirping and flew home, while the raccons scavenged for scraps in the city streets. If she concentrated, she could smell the earliest of dew starting to form on the grass, the frogs' heavy groaning in her ears. Before she knew it, a smile stretched across her pretty feautures – soon the air would be cool enough for her evening jog. Ms. Sanban was very keen on keeping herself healthy, and jogging was the best way to keep her cardiovascular system in tip-top shape. When she was a teenager, the track team kept her on her toes, but she was now an adult, and it was up to her to stay fit. She found jogging around the forest preserve seven and a half minutes to be exciting as well as beautiful, and made it part of her routine to run there every night for an hour.

The excited adult quickly stripped out of her jeans and tank top, changing into a pair of knee length sweat pants and a hoodie, both a very vibrant shade of green. Kuki knew that it got dark rather quickly, and did her best to make sure that she was seen. It'd be awful if something were to happen to her and she was too dark to be seen, wouldn't it? (Un)Fortunately for her, this would never be the case. She was bound to be seen and attract every bit of attention on the way.

She just wuoldn't be able to tell if this attention was good or not.

Still, the naive adult left her apartment, shouting farewells to her roommate, who warned her about going out at night alone. Abigail Lincoln was enrolled in the police academy, and gave the girl warnings time and time again about running alone when it was so dark, but Kuki had been doing this for several years now. Nothing had happened then, so why would anything happen now? Nothing was special about tonight, it was any other night. Nothing was special about the trail, it was any other trail. Most of all, there was nothing special about _her,_ she was an ordinary girl. She had no enemies, lots of friends, and she didn't stand out too much.

She kept that in mind as she jogged a block and a half away, her earbuds placed perfectly and iPod attatched to her hip. Her counter was on the other hip, tracking how many steps she took. While her music blasted in her ears, she was deaf to the world around her, it's sounds and lights meant little to her. She carefully crossed at each intersection by sheer luck, and made it to the trail i one piece – for now. She checked her watch and seen that it was only a minute until eight, and she checked her laces before taking off on the five mile trek deeper into the forest preserve.

She jogged quietly, the trees swallowing her small frame until she couldn't see the cars – they couldn't see her. She didn't mind, because Britney Spears and Madonna were currently singing in her ears and she absolyutely loved it. The night grew darker around her, and the animals began to move freely, but she paid them no mind. A chill dashed through the air and she shivered slightly, only now aware that she'd been actually running. Her legs were on fire, and she stopped to take a short rest, her ponytail lopping to one side.

In an instant, she fell on her back, a large body on top of her small physique. Her autumn eyes widened substanstially, and she let out a large gasp she didn't think she was capable of. She froze stiff, her lips parted in what she imaged to be an ugly, shocked, and disheveled state. She found herself drawn to her assailant's icy blue eyes, and he gives her a lopsided smile. He begins to mouth words – she assumes it's an apology – and helps her up. Kuki's brown eyes trail over his form, he's dressed in all black, but very muscular and very, very handsome. A sharp chin and round, wide eyes intrigue her, and a soft button nose makes her blush softly. He removes his hood and shows a shock of white hair, and she is visibly startled, but he laughs at this. Gently, he plucked her earbud out and began talking. "I'm so sorry," he said, not moving off of her.

"It's fine, really," she said, lifting herself up. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind an ear and was about to jog off when he caught her elbow. He didn't say anything to her, but his grip was tight on her arm – when she looked down, his knuckles were white. She was sure there was going to be bruises when he let up, but did her best to keep her mouth shut.

"You remind me of my ex-girlfriend," he said, a small smirk on his face. He tilted his head to the side and pulled Kuki closer to him, his breath on her face. It was hot and reeked of nicotine and metal, but she didn't complain – though her plump lips quivered with worry. Her guts twisted in the containment of her body, and she felt her knees burn and turn to jelly under his icy, calculating stare. "She was so very pretty," he continued, stroking his free hand against her cool face, elicting goosebumps, "ran like a rabbit. It's such a shame what happened to her..." he said, his voice trailing off. He removed his hand from her face and put it in his pocket, taking a lasting look at her. Then, he let her go.

Everything inside Kuki told her to run, run as fast as she can to as far as she can. It wasn't safe—he wasn't safe—she should leave. She should leave now and never look back, and he should only be a memory, a strange, odd, old memory in the back of her head. Kuki wanted to run, but she didn't. Instead, she stayed and asked a question, "What happened to her?" He turned around, a grin etched to his face. In a few short strides, slow and planned out, he was on her again, gripping her shoulder fiercely. A yelp escaped her mouth, and he did nothing to stop it.

"I'm _so_ glad you asked, _Sanban,"_ he said, his face close to hers. Kuki's eyes widened exponetially, this man _knew_ her. He knew name, and probably knew her route too. He knew her name and maybe a lot more than he let on earlier. A deep chuckle escaped his lips, which quickly turned into a cackle. "She died – my last girlfriend. It was _so_ saddening," he said with a smile that showed no sadness whatsoever, "some _maniac_ gutted her – like the fish you bought last week, Kuki." From his pocket he flashed a shiny metal object, sharp and lethal, and his face looked ready to strike. "Don't scream," he breathed, his voice serious, "it'll be over too quickly if you scream, babe. Okay?" Kuki responded with a quick bob of her head, tears welling in her eyes. "Good. That maniac cut her open with a box cutter, chin to stomach," he said, using his knife to show Kuki where the incision was, "and rearranged her insides. Never found her left lung. It was a god-awful bloody _mess,_ and she _screamed_ so much that he cut her tongue out. Isn't that awful?" He looked at her with those icy blue eyes, prompting an answer. "Who would do such a thing?"

Her lower lip shook franticly as she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face. With a sniff, she answered, "You?" Her voice was soft and frail, and she looked ready to break. Mocking her fear, he shook with her.

"Yes, Kuki. _I_ was that maniac. I dug my hands in Candy's corpse and cut out her bloody lungs and red heart, and switched them around. Wrapped her intenstines around her pretty little throat," he drawled. He spoke cruelly and coldly, his voice detatched and merciless. "I'll tell you a secret," he proposed, scooting closer to the girl. Quickly, he bought the blade behind her ear and pressed down, breaking the skin easily. "I wanna...do it again, Candy," he whispered, smiling from ear to ear. Kuki sobbed into herself, whimpering as he spoke to her.

"Please, just let me go home," she begged, her voice breaking. He shook his head at her, causing more tears to fall quicker than they have before. " _PLEASE!"_ she pleaded, her voice raising an octave. He pounced on her, pinning her to the ground. The blade was put to her throat, and she realized that it was very, very sharp. She yelped, but held her tongue, hoping it would remain in her mouth.

"What did I say about screaming, Candy?" he asked coldly, pressing the blade harder.

"Please," she begged, her voice low this time. "Please, please, _please,"_ she repeated, a mantra in her voice. He only shook his head at her slowly, the grin spreading wider. "I don't want to die.." she said, closing her eyes. He pressed the blade against her neck softly, drawing red blood. It spilled onto the blade and the ground beneath them, into his free hand and in her hair. Kuki began to breathe heavily underneath him, her body raking with a mix of sobs and breaths. "Don't kill me," she pleaded, touching the blood on her throat.

"Everyone dies, Candy," he said, getting off of her, though he pulled her up harshly. "Let's play a game—tag. You go scamper off into the forest and I'll count to ten. If I catch you, I'll make a slit in your side," he said, taking the knife and drawing it up the side of her body, starting from her ankle and ending at the base of her skull, sending shivers down her spine, "and watch your pretty little face as you bleed out. Then I'll take a needle and thread and sew you back up." He used his free hand to take away the hairtie holding her ponytail in place, and her her bangs fall into her eyes. "We can play dress-up together, Candy. I can brush your hair...do your makeup...take you shopping. Wouldn't you like that?"

Kuki didn't dare respond. He smirked at her and pointed towards the trees, and softly closed his eyes. "One," he began, and Kuki took off. She wasn't sure how long she was allowed to run, but she ran as fast as her long, thin legs could carry her. She was aware of the animals around her now, they watched her with curiosity in their deep, brown eyes. They were interested, but not willing to help as when she ran by, they went the other way.

"YOU CAN RUN, BABY!" She heard him calling, knowing her time was up. "I'LL CATCH YA, CANDY. I ALWAYS GET CHA, BABE!" She heard his footsteps behind her, coming quickly towards her, and she windered how on Earth he could move so fast. Moving quickly, she abruptly made a left turn, hoping it would place ore distance between her and her assailant.

All hope was lost when she ran into his chest, his arms wrapped around her tightly. A wide smile was on his face when he plunged his knife into her soft skin near her ankle, and began dragging it up her body. "Sebastian's got you now, Candy. Forever, my sweet piece of Candy."

She didn't have enough energy to scream.


End file.
